Push will come to shove with Rockets and Warriors

1of 2Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) falls to the floor after he was fouled by Golden State Warriors guard Patrick McCaw during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff / Houston Chronicle

2of 2Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) cheers as he walks back up court after hitting a shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff / Houston Chronicle

The Rockets and Golden State Warriors expect the Western Conference finals to get chippy. They almost welcome the simmering feuds and heated exchanges that will befit a long-anticipated clash on the brink of the NBA Finals at Toyota Center on Monday.

“There’s going to be some chippy-ness, some controversy,” James Harden said, with a shrug. “What’s the playoffs without that?”

“There’s gonna be some back and forth,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. “That’s part of the territory.”

“Oh, yeah,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr had said to reporters in Oakland. “I mean, it’s the Western Conference Finals. It’s going to be competitive. It’s going to be physical. It would be weird if it were not.”

For the Warriors, the series is a penultimate step toward extending their reign with a fourth consecutive Finals appearance.

Their opponents have more to prove. Despite Harden making the playoffs in each of his six seasons and Chris Paul in nine of his 10, Trevor Ariza is the only Rocket to win a title (with the Lakers in 2009).

When asked if the hunger to win their first championships could give Rockets players an advantage, Kerr added a dash of hot sauce to the buildup. He preferred the Warriors’ position.

“Our guys have rings,” Kerr said.

“Everybody’s hyped up about wanted to see this matchup,” said Warriors guard Nick Young. “It’s intense. You can feel the intensity in the air. Everybody feels they’re the better team. They’re gonna be talking, and fighting, and scrapping—doing everything to win.”

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni condoned the expected feistiness, so long as he does not get dragged into it. He said the players in this series know how to push buttons but police themselves.

“Oh, I don’t manage them,” he said. “I'm sure (the Warriors) are not going to back down. I'm sure we’ll be chippy. Everybody should be chippy.”

“But,” D’Antoni qualified, “it won’t go - hopefully - over the line.”

If it does, it would seem likely to be because of Draymond Green, the Warriors’ Swiss Army knife on both ends and jagged edge in on-court confrontations.

Young became familiar with Green’s tactics while playing four seasons for the Lakers.

“Doing little things to push you off balance that the refs don’t see,” Young said. “And talking. Non-stop talking. Once he gets going, he gets under people’s skin.”

His kick-happy fouls in the playoffs suggest a struggle with self-restraint. There was the time Green said he hated accusations of being a “dirty player,” only to nearly kick then-Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving in the face a day later; the leaping kick Green delivered between the legs of Thunder center Steven Adams and the kick to the groin of LeBron James that earned Green a suspension for Game 5 of the 2016 Finals.

Those collisions, which Green had said were inadvertent, did not curb his aggressiveness. This postseason he is averaging nearly a triple-double (13.1 points, 11.5 rebounds and nine assists) and disgruntling opponents along the way.

He spread agita like a contagion in Game 2 against the Pelicans in the last round. He barked in the face of Nikola Mirotic, jawed chest-to-chest distance with Rajon Rondo and took 7-footer Anthony Davis to the floor in a rolling tangle of limbs that somehow ended with both players receiving fouls.

“I just had to bring some force,” Green had said. “We were playing soft that first quarter. The second quarter, we needed to, you know, bring some intensity to the game, and you know, that’s my job.”

Green’s behavior inspired television analyst Charles Barkley to say that he wanted to punch Green in the face. Barkley issued an apology later.

By acquiring Paul last June, when presumptions of this conference finals cemented, the Rockets loaded a cannon ball for their attack on the Warriors.

“Chris is a killer,” Kerr had said. “He’s one of the great competitors in the league. That’s how Draymond is. You’ve got to have guys like that if you’re going to win.”

Paul does not physically harass like Green, but the point guard is known for snarling and stirring trash-talk.

A conflict between them likely would leave a fog of epithets over the court, but Paul did not dwell on the matter at practice Sunday. He declined to offer any opinion as to why Green agitates opponents.

“I don’t know,” Paul said, and repeated.

Paul let his answer hang for seven seconds, before receiving a follow-up about Green.

“I expect a hard fought series,” Paul added.

Curry is comfortable with the contention, to a limit.

“It can’t distract us from what our goal is,” he said. “We’re all pretty aware of how to handle ourselves and bring that edge, that competitiveness, that toughness, and channel it toward making productive plays—as opposed to giving in to the back-and-forth, the chirping matches.”

Harden supports Green being chippy.

“As he should,” Harden said. “It’s the postseason.”

Harden’s encouragement might be his own strategic maneuver. Green has gone over the line and hurt the Warriors before. His suspension in 2016 helped the Cavaliers come back in the series to win the championship - an interruption to what, in retrospect, could have been three consecutive titles for Golden State.

Hunter Atkins joined the Houston Chronicle in April 2016. He has written for Rolling Stone, Forbes, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, Popular Science and ESPN The Magazine, among others. His assignments have ranged from an investigative article on gun violence in Chicago for Rolling Stone to the story of the world champion in competitive stair climbing for the New York Times.